Like Dark Turning Into Day
by DarkWolf-Nightmare
Summary: "Can you imagine it? Caring about someone so much that suddenly all the words that you know are not enough to describe such a huge and intense feeling, to the point where you have to come up with something entirely new to be able to express it?" "Love." "It's such a beautiful word, don't you think?" or Ruby and Sapphire discover a new word for an old feeling.


It's a few minutes before the break of dawn. Sapphire is sitting all alone at the edge of a cliff; her face is turned skywards and her thoughts stray far, much like the stars she is so intensely admiring. Suddenly she is brought out of her musings by the sound of a familiar pair of footsteps, rushed but soft against the dew-wet grass.

"What are you doing all the way up here by yourself?"

"Hello you too, Ruby" She says, looking over her shoulder towards her red companion and giving her a welcoming grin "I'm waiting for the sun to rise. The real question is: will you stay and watch it with me?"

Ruby answers with an excited "_Of course" _and quickly sits close to the former aristocrat.

They simply sit there and enjoy each other's presence without exchanging any words. The crickets break the silence with their soft and constant melodies, the fireflies are dancing in the air like sparks from a campfire, and a gentle and fresh breeze sweeps through the darkness, ruffling the blades of grass and the leaves in the trees as Ruby and Sapphire look at the stars above while the sun is still out of sight.

It's a beautiful night, and Sapphire would gladly stay in that sweet moment forever. She notices, however, to her dismay that there's not a speck of dust clinging to Ruby's skin nor a single tear to be seen in her clothes. That likely means that Ruby's just reformed, and that thought sends an unpleasant feeling all through Sapphire's form.

They both know very well that the rebellion is in full swing and any day could be their last. It scares them both to no end just to imagine a future where the other is not around anymore. They try very hard not to think about it, but if they had to guess, they'd say it would be a rather bleak and boring existence, devoid of any semblance of joy and completely filled with loneliness and pain; and it terrifies Sapphire to think about how close that reality came to be today.

She wants to know what happened, but the question dies at the tip of her tongue when she realizes that, despite the fact that she is a proud soldier and that she was sent back into her gem just a few hours ago, Ruby is not pacing around in anger and frustration at her own failure like she normally would.

In fact, it's quite the opposite. Ruby looks completely unperturbed by it. Her eyes are closed in quiet appreciation of the world around her; her hair is being gently swept by the cool wind; her smile is so wide that it lights up her entire face, just like the fireflies all around them, and she looks so peaceful and so happy to be here.

It seems so wrong, to spoil this rare and precious moment of peace. It feels like the whole universe is standing still, just to give them this one moment alone. Sapphire wants to ask, but more than that, she wants to take in this beautiful sight before her, of Ruby with her eyes closed and her hair flying and smiling at nothing at all, and wants to keep it in her mind forever; she wants to take this opportunity the universe has given them to cherish each other while they're both still here.

Still admiring her favorite soldier, Sapphire places her small cold hand on top of Ruby's rough warm one and slowly intertwines their fingers (and it's another thing that scares her, how well their fingers fit together, as if they were meant since the beginning of time to hold each other and never let go). _"I'm so glad that you're back"_ she whispers, and she hopes that the universe above can hear in her voice the gratefulness she feels for being able to be here and share this moment with Ruby

Ruby simply opens her eyes, and still smiling, replies "Well I'm glad to be back to you." Sapphire thinks that she doesn't really care about the war right now, not when she can see a pretty little blush creeping up on Ruby's cheeks instead.

After that, they just talk. They talk about their days and their missions, and the things they saw in their ways and wished the other was there to see it too. Their conversation flows like a river to the sea; from Ruby telling Sapphire about what's going on in the battlefield, to Sapphire explaining something about the humans and Rose.

As much as Ruby tries to absorb Sapphire's tale, she isn't really paying attention. It's not her intention, for she's always interested in whatever it is that the seer has to say. But right now she's rather distracted admiring Sapphire's simple beauty and noticing little things about her that she never did with another gem before. Her posture is relaxed and her movements are swift; and her bangs are parted, exposing her beautiful blue eye, so similar to the Earth's sky. If Sapphire is aware of Ruby's fixed gaze on her form, she pays it no mind, and instead just keeps telling her story.

_"... and their hearts are full of love…"_

"Wait, what's that?"

Ruby finally snaps out of her reverie, after realizing, really embarrassed, that she had been staring quite intensely.

"What? You mean _love?_" she nods

She's not sure why this unfamiliar word has startled her out of her thoughts like this (perhaps it was the childlike excitement in Sapphire's eye, or the soft curve of her smile as the lone syllable slipped from her lips), but now that it did, the blue gem has her undivided attention (not that she didn't before, anyway).

The soldier sees something shifting in her partner. Her stare goes from Ruby to the sky, and if she was giddy and joyful before, now the look in her eye seems almost dreamlike. She takes a deep, unnecessary breath, and starts:

"So, uh, Rose told me that sometimes, a human being can become so attached to another, that they feel like there are butterflies in their stomachs, and that their hearts are stuck in their throats and their minds suddenly become blank. Personally, I don't really think that's possible, you know, because if any of those things happened, the humans would most likely die." She chuckles lightly and continues "But anyway, she says that when that happens, it becomes very difficult for them to properly vocalize their emotions, because their common words for affection (like passion, devotion, fondness and such) seem too small compared to everything they feel for the other. So instead of struggling with a thousand words that sound insufficient and inaccurate, they came up with a new word just for that. That's love."

Sapphire finishes with yet another sigh, her eye still drawn to the stars above while waiting for dawn to come. The strange word had sparked great interest inside her from the moment the rebel leader had explained its meaning. If she's perfectly honest, it's amazing how such a small word can fit so many different feelings within it. She's been mulling over this one single syllable all day now, trying to make sense of it, but it's much more complicated than she anticipated, and she thinks that she still can't fully figure it out. It's such a huge word for short one.

If she had to guess, she'd say that love is a little bit like the sun, because apparently it makes words like fondness and passion and affection seem so little and inadequate compared to it; much like the sun makes all of the stars seem so dim compared to its magnitude and radiance.

Sapphire sits there and thinks about the sun and the stars, and attachment and _love_, and even if she can't fully grasp it, she feels a warmth spread through her cold body like she never thought possible. She feels all warm and giddy and happy and it's such a welcome feeling, and she suddenly remembers that Ruby is right there by her side, and she wants Ruby to feel as happy as she does. She doesn't even notice when she starts rambling like there's no tomorrow:

"Can you imagine it? Caring about someone so much that suddenly all the words that you know are not enough to describe such a huge and intense feeling, to the point where you have to come up with something entirely new to be able to express it?"

_"Love."_

"It's such a beautiful word, don't you think?"

Too caught up in her own thoughts, Sapphire doesn't notice the sudden shift of temperature in the air, nor the fact that the patches of grass around them and the hand that tightly holds her own are very close to smoldering. She doesn't notice, but her words light a fire so fierce and bright inside of Ruby like no amount of rage has ever done.

It hits Ruby like a punch to her gut; it strikes her like thunder.

Ruby loves Sapphire

And it feels just like she described. Ruby feels so many feelings spiraling inside of her, in such a large amount and all at once, that she can't find the right words for what she has to say. Hell, she even feels what she thinks are butterflies swarming in the place her stomach should be; when she tries to swallow she finds that there's a lump clogging up her throat; and try as she might, she can't think about anything at all. It's all so overwhelming

It takes her back to that second time when she and Sapphire fused. Just like back then, she feels a bit lost and very much scared, but she feels oh, so happy. She's at the happiest she's ever been, happy like she only ever is whenever Sapphire is next to her.

_"Yeah"_ she answers simply Sapphire's previous question

_"It really is a beautiful word."_

And Ruby turns to stare at Sapphire again, and this time she doesn't even bother in trying to hide it. She watches the wind blowing her hair like it blows the clouds up in the sky (and she wants to reach out and touch it, wants to know how the light blue curls would feel between her fingers.); she admires her gorgeous blue eye while it admires the night sky (she wants Sapphire to look at her as fondly as she looks at it, wants to stare at her eye and get lost in its light forever); she looks at Sapphire's smile and it makes her want to smile too (and she wants to make her smile like that every day, to make her happy for all of eternity).

Ruby looks at Sapphire and she wants to fuse with her, like they have been doing for years now (she wants them both to feel like they're being held in each other's arms, as if they're trapped in an eternal embrace), because she loves her. _"Can you imagine it?"_ Sapphire had asked, and Ruby can imagine it very well, because it's exactly how she feels about the gem by her side. Ruby loves Sapphire, has loved her for decades now and the word, more than just make sense, feels right and true.

"Hey, Sapphire?"

"Yes?"

A pause

"I think I love you."

She winces, regretting her words as soon as they're out of her mouth. They just feel... wrong. They sounded so hesitant and uncertain in her shaky voice, when the truth is that Ruby has never felt as sure in her entire existence as she feels in this moment. Ruby is as sure that she loves Sapphire as she is that the sky is blue, and that water is wet, and that the sun will rise in the morning even if the night is dark and long.

She's about to take back her words, when she's startled by a sound next to her. Sapphire is chuckling to herself, she realizes. Until her chuckles turn to a loud and delightful laughter. Ruby really likes the sound of Sapphire's laughter (she might even love it if she thinks about it), but now she can't help but blush in embarrassment and ask _"What are you laughing at?"_

Sapphire never saw it coming; the words her partner said, her flushed cheeks or the crack in her voice as she said them. She shouldn't be surprised really; by the fact that Ruby managed to surprise her all over again, to change the path that fate had so meticulously set out for them; but she is nonetheless. Her precognition was thrown into a loop and she is frozen on the spot; just like that time right after they first fused and ran away, hand in hand, from Blue Diamond's court.

Now that Ruby's words have settled, Sapphire can see something new before her again. It is one, two, maybe even five thousand years ahead of her, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that Ruby is all over her future. She can see the two of them holding hands, holding each other's faces, holding each other. She can see the two of them together, fused and stable and content, and she can't find the words to describe how much that image fills her with joy. She can't describe how much Ruby fills her with joy.

And that's a rather ironic thing, because she knows how little Ruby values her own life, how she thinks of herself as disposable and replaceable; knows that she'd dive headfirst into any battle thinking that if she were to be shattered, her absence wouldn't really mean that much. _"There's loads like me."_ She'd say like it's nothing.

It's so sad to Sapphire that her wonderful and precious Ruby would think that low of herself, because Sapphire thinks there is no other like her. Out of thousands of identical rubies she got to be stuck here on Earth with this one; and this is the one she was saved and held and protected by; the one she danced and sang and laughed and cried and fused with. Together they created something entirely new and that has made Ruby the only one in the entire universe. Now she alone is more important than all the other thousands of rubies put together, because she is the one Sapphire got to share her life here with. Because she is her Ruby, and Sapphire considers herself the luckiest gem alive.

She thanks all the stars in the space beyond, for she knows of the immenseness of space and time, she has seen and lived it herself. She knows how slim the chances of them ever even meeting each other were, but against all odds, they are both right here and right now. They both got to be alive at the same time, to walk over the same grassy land under the same sky, to watch the same sun rise and dispel the darkness above. Stars, they got to share the same body and the same mind. They go to be together.

They found each other in the cosmos, and that is truly the most wondrous thing that could have ever happened to both of them.

_"It's nothing." _She finally says, slowly regaining her composure after a few more ungraceful giggles escape from her lips

And Sapphire thinks again. She thinks about the future, luck, Ruby and about love. After a whole day of contemplating this one so seemingly complicated word, she thinks she finally understands it now, and it's so simple she feels stupid for not noticing it before.

Sapphire loves Ruby.

This isn't like after the first time they fused at all. Back then, she was terrified, and the sudden change of the only future she had ever known felt wrong; but right now Sapphire is thrilled because this feels so right, _loving Ruby feels so right; a_nd this new future she's just seen, this future so full of _Ruby_ and so full of _love_, is the future she wants for herself.

The words slip from her tongue so easily once she finally says them aloud, and they ignite something inside of them both, something huge and bright and warm, just like the sun rising before their eyes.

_"I think I love you too."_


End file.
